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US Fast Battleships 1936–47: The North Carolina and South Dakota classes (New Vanguard) Paperback – Illustrated, November 23, 2010

by Lawrence Burr (Author), Peter Bull (Illustrator)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 89 ratings
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This volume details the design, construction, and operation of the first six of the ten US fast battleships, two of the North Carolina class and four of the South Dakota class. These six battleships were all authorized in 1936 and were the first vessels built in the US since 1923. Consequently, these ships benefitted from enormous technological leaps, with improvements in ship design, power, armor, armament and the single most important improvement the use of radar guided fire control helping to change the course of the war in the Pacific. Packed with first-hand accounts, battle reports, and specially created artwork this book tells the story of these war-winning vessels.
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  1. Part of series
    New Vanguard
  2. Print length
    48 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Osprey Publishing
  5. Publication date
    November 23, 2010
  6. Dimensions
    7.21 x 0.1 x 9.68 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1846035104
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1846035104
  9. See all details
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From the Publisher

New Vanguard

battlescenes

Cutaway diagrams

Photos

Full colour battlescenes

Beautifully illustrated battlescenes are included to bring the narrative of the conflict to life.

Cutaway diagrams

Specially commissioned full colour illustrations are included alongside labels and comprehensive captions to give a full breakdown of the machines and ships used in battle.

Photographs

Each volume features a wide range of photographs, which provide unparalleled detail of the uniforms and weaponry used by the combatants.

New Vanguard

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter Bull has worked as a freelance illustrator for more than twenty-five years. He illustrated Claire Llewellyn's Explorers: Big Cats, among other books. He creates both traditional and digital art for publishers worldwide and also runs the Peter Bull Art Studio, based in the United Kingdom.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Osprey Publishing; Illustrated edition (November 23, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 48 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1846035104
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1846035104
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.21 x 0.1 x 9.68 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 89 ratings

About the author

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Lawrence Burr

Lawrence Burr

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Lawrence Burr initiated and co-produced the Channel 4/Discovery Channel documentary Jutland-Clash of the Dreadnoughts, based around extensive diving on the battlecruiser wrecks of the Battle of Jutland. Lawrence has written a number of naval books for Osprey.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
89 global ratings
EXCELLENT
5 Stars
EXCELLENT
Another "GREAT" read. For the New Vanguard series. Info on the North Carolina and the South Dakota Battleships. Also shows improvements that were made to the ships.
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Top reviews from the United States

Tony
5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2020
Verified Purchase
Another "GREAT" read. For the New Vanguard series. Info on the North Carolina and the South Dakota Battleships. Also shows improvements that were made to the ships.
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Tony
5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2020
Another "GREAT" read. For the New Vanguard series. Info on the North Carolina and the South Dakota Battleships. Also shows improvements that were made to the ships.
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Gary Moore
5.0 out of 5 stars Another valuable addition to the author's series on warships of World War II
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2015
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Another valuable addition to the author's series on warships of World War II. Good discussion of the technical issues behind development the different classes of battleships before the war as well as service modifications in light of combat experience. The author includes an account of the service life of each ship in the two classes.
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Jonathan Lupton
4.0 out of 5 stars Good overall appraisal of the most successful battleships in World War II
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2010
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You could make a good case that these battleships, the U.S. North Carolina and South Dakota classes, were the best overall battleships of history. True, the later Iowa class bettered their performance in speed, and had a slightly higher-velocity version of the 16-inch gun, but the Iowas were 10,000 tons heavier, and were too late to see surface action. Other vessels, like the German Bismarcks and Japanese Yamatos, were even larger but arguably delivered less performance in proportion to size. The British King George V class had inadequate (and unreliable) 14-inch guns, and, as Prince of Wales demonstrated, may have had deficient underwater protection.

This title gives a decent summary of both the design characteristics and war experience of these vital two classes of WWII battleships. Several useful diagrams help the reader to understand how they worked. The turret diagram and accompanying text on pp. 28-29 are especially useful. Illustrations are plentiful, and the captions are well-employed to provide additional information.

I have been studying battleships all my life, yet this title managed to introduce new tidbits for me. For example, during the typhoon that hit the US Pacific fleet, USS North Carolina generally rolled 10 degrees, with a maximum roll of 43 degrees, in conditions that sank three destroyers and damaged much of the fleet. There is a nice summary of the battleship duel between the Japanese Kirishima and the US battleships Washington and South Dakota. The text here clarifies a few things I had not known, such as the high proportion of hits that Washington achieved with radar-directed armament. Yet Washington almost fired on South Dakota in the confusion, which helps account for why the U.S. avoided putting fast battleships into night actions later in the war.

The most important contribution these battleships made to the Pacific war was unexpected. With heavy AA armament, good protection, and the ability to direct fighter aircraft, these battlewagons made excellent escorts for the all-important carriers. The author points out that no carrier that was accompanied by battleship escort was lost to air attack, and this is not just a coincidence. US battleships could put out a lethal dose of AA fire, and accounted for many Japanese aircraft. The author provides fascinating background on the tactics of AA defense.

There is a striking error on p. 30, where an image that is clearly a Cleveland-class light cruiser is identified as USS North Carolina. But most of the illustrations are first-class.

The author appears to lean heavily on the Battleship North Carolina Memorial in Wilmington, NC, including the excellent title Battleship North Carolina by Captain Ben Blee USN. Anyone interested in these ships should visit this outstanding museum.

Overall, this title is a good value for the money and almost warrants five stars; the error mentioned above and a slight lack of depth on the vessels' design were the main deficiencies. Nonetheless, it promises new information and a good read for almost anybody with an interest in these historic vessels.
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PSU spouse
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book.
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2013
Verified Purchase
Lots of good material, especially regarding the encounter between the Japanese battleship Kirishima and the U.S.S. Washington and South Dakota. The book seemed to have an overabundance of photos of the North Carolina, to yjr detriment of coverage of the other vessels. Still lots of good illustrations and information.
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Glenn
3.0 out of 5 stars Book deals heavily with the USS North Carolina
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2019
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This book is good if you want a lot of information about the USS North Carolina. The other ships of the class or sister class are but a foot note. It is good for reference
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars These were the ships that filled the gap until the ...
Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2014
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These were the ships that filled the gap until the Iowa class arrived. Their designs were still being influenced by treaty limits, but they were well balanced and capable ships.
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RussD
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2016
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Too thin on construction details. Service history is available from dozens of other sources.
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Richard F. Teklits
4.0 out of 5 stars good book
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2011
Verified Purchase
This was an enjoyable book to read....one of the other reviews summarized this well in stating that this little book had some information that he had not heard of before.
The book does seem to concentrate on the North Carolina class. However, there is information in here that I had never read before. Of particular interest was the description of the night surface action wherein the USS Washington and the South Dakota took on the Kirishima. It has been widely cited that the Washington scored 9 hits with her 16 inch battery. This book cites a post war interview with some survivors of the Kirishima that state the Washington scored close to 20 hits with her 16 inch guns. The author also points out that the relative closing speed of the two ships was 54 knots...meaning that the Washington's main battery turrets had to train 20 degree per minute to stay on target. If the 20 hits are accepted, then Washington scored 20 hits out of 75 main battery rounds fired...an accuracy of @27%...impressive performance by the crew.
I recommend this book and found it to be very enjoyable!
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Tristan
3.0 out of 5 stars Too many illustrations of North Carolina herself
Reviewed in Canada on May 10, 2021
Verified Purchase
Well written and standard Osprey book. More detail on their operational service life than most other new vanguard series books on capital ships I’ve read, with a good mini coverage on the Washington Naval treaty and how the ships came to be, plus their primary actions. The early actions in war that they are involved with are covered in far more detail, such as the battles around Guadalcanal and the Massachusetts vs Jean Bart, where later war actions are basically summarized as anti aircraft duties in carrier task groups. Well written and good read for someone like me who knows every little about these vessels. However, when it comes to photos I do have a bit of a complaint. Someone obviously has a soft spot for the North Carolina, because 90% of the photos in the book are of her. This applies to the period photographs, and besides the profile and plan view of the 2 classes early in the book, that shows each class leader (North Carolina and South Dakota) to represent their class, all 4 of the colour plates are, you guesses it, of North Carolina. First of all, why not mix it up, secondly, it’s not helpful to help learn to distinguish ships when all of the photos are of 1 vessel, maybe understandable if the book was all on one class of ship, but covering 2 comparable classes here and showing photos of basiclly 1 ship of 1 class doesn’t make sense. On top of that the colour plates of North Carolina through the war don’t show any progressive changes to the ship, including Strykers Bridge, only different camouflage patterns on the same basic shop as she was originally commissioned. So writing is good, photos and illustrations not thrilled on selection, an description for all the photos is very lacking, in any sort of detail in the slightest. The artwork is okay for the colour plates besides the poor selection, although the battle scene art is less impressive, in particular the one of the night action off Guadalcanal as the rear turret looks like it has a massively tall barbet, with the turret well above the deck which looks rather odd, while the Santa Cruz action art is equally unimpressive and just looks amateurish in general
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Fede
5.0 out of 5 stars Sintetico ed efficace.
Reviewed in Italy on August 4, 2018
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"US Fast Battleships 1936-47" descrive l'evoluzione tecnica e l'impiego operativo delle due navi da battaglia classe "North Carolina" e delle successive quattro classe "South Dakota", prime navi da battaglia americane progettate e costruite dopo la firma del Trattato di Washington (1922).
Gran parte del testo è assorbito dall'illustrazione dell'intensa attività di queste unità, con particolare riferimento alla campagna nelle Salomone (battaglie delle Salomone Orientali, Santa Cruz, 2a battaglia di Guadalcanal).
L'autore descrive in modo sintetico ma efficace la molteplicità di ruoli assunti dalle navi da battaglia veloci della US Navy: il compito di difesa anti-aerea delle portaerei, quello classico di contrasto alle unità similari negli scontri notturni (grazie all'integrazione degli apparati radar nei sistemi di condotta del tiro), l'appoggio alle operazioni anfibie come batterie galleggianti.
Ne emergono dunque flessibilità ed efficacia d'impiego poco note al lettore che non abbia un interesse specifico.
Significativa la tabella che riassume le campagne a cui parteciparono dal 1942 al 1945 le sei unita (la North Carolina unica sempre presente).
Particolarmente apprezzabile l'introduzione in cui si delinea l'impatto del Trattato di Washington sull'evoluzione della US Navy tra le due guerre, sottolineando gli effetti del divieto di costruire nuove basi navali/installazioni militari nel Pacifico occidentale, la conseguente importanza attribuita alla portaerei e lo sviluppo di una dottrina d'impiego in cui quest'ultima e la nave da battaglia vengono integrate come elementi di mutuo supporto.
La conclusione più significativa è che nessuna portaerei direttamente scortata da una nave da battaglia fu affondata da navi di superficie o aerei avversari e viceversa.
Interessante la bibliografia, che include un testo a mio avviso particolarmente interessante per chi fosse interessato allo sviluppo della marina che avrebbe garantito la vittoria nel Pacifico: AGENTS OF INNOVATION: THE GENERAL BOARD AND THE DESIGN OF THE FLEET THAT DEFEATED THE JAPANESE NAVY di John T. Kuehn.
Sconsiglio il volume a chi ha interessi puramente modellistici: sono presenti vari profili a colori ed un buon numero di fotografie di buona qualità, ma sono necessariamente di dimensioni ridotte.
La parte tecnica è necessariamente limitata: in fondo al testo sono presenti due utili tabelle riassuntive dei dati tecnici (dimesioni, autonomia, velocità, armamento, protezione/spessori ecc), i motivi delle scelte di fondo su dislocamento, velocità, protezione ed armamento sono comunque richiamati consentendo al lettore di intuire le problematiche associate.
Nel complesso un ottimo punto di partenza per chi volesse approfondire ed una piacevole veloce lettura.
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Marc R.
3.0 out of 5 stars Schönes, aber etwas entäuschendes Buch
Reviewed in Germany on December 25, 2012
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Die alten Schlachtschiffe üben seit jeher eine riesen Faszination auf mich aus, daher war ich sehr gespannt auf das Buch und hofft das technische Details zum Antrieb und dem Design der Superstruktur zu finden sein würden.

Diesbezüglich war das Buch aber sehr entäuschend: Sogar Wikipedia bietet eine weitaus bessere Übersicht zur Technik: Das Buch besteht vor allem aus den Beschreibungen der Einsätze und wie es zu diesen Schiffen kam. Die wenigen technischen Details sind vor allem Fachbegriffe von Waffen und Radars. Jedoch auch wieder keine technischen Beschreibungen.

Fazit: Das Buch ist sehr simpel geschrieben und ist sehr schnell gelesen, für Leute mit oberflâchlichem Interesse an den Kriegschiffen sehr zu empfehlen, für technikbegeisterte Leute wie mich eher enttäuschend.
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David McIntyre
5.0 out of 5 stars Informative
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 11, 2011
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As the hope for peace amongst the world powers began to fade in the 1930s U.S.Fast Battleships 1936-47 describes how these ships,a huge improvement over existing U.S.N. Battleships came about,the design and construction is covered including fire control,radar,speed,aircraft etc.World War Two service concentrates on U.S.S.North Carolina,to a lesser degree U.S.S. Washington,the aircraft carrier-battleship combo made this reader wonder if battleship obsolescence is premature,48 pages of concise,clear history,a good set of photographs,good artwork only the cutaway of U.S.S. North Carolina is spread over two pages,an informative book that can be read in one sitting.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2021
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Great and interesting book on US Navy fast battle ships which saw loads of action and are often over looked by the later Iowa class.
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